Rise in patients stuck in Hampshire hospitals after they are ready to go home has been described as a 'crisis in care'

A BIG rise in patients stuck in Hampshire hospitals after they are ready to go home exposes a “crisis in care”, it has been claimed.

The number of “delayed days” – spent in hospital beds, because patients cannot be discharged – has soared by almost 38 per cent in just 12 months, new figures show.

Among Southampton residents, the number of days beds were blocked unnecessarily jumped from 525 in June last year to 684 last month, a rise of 30.3 per cent.

Across Hampshire, the increase was even higher at 34.3 per cent – up from 1,373 days to 1,844 in June this year.

On the Isle of Wight, there were 97 “delayed days” last month, an almost nine-fold increase on just 11 in the same period last year.

The figures cover delays after acute care only, involving surgery after severe injuries or illnesses, or to treat urgent conditions.

Liz Kendall, Labour’s care spokesman, said delayed discharges due to a lack of social care for people in their own homes was “at record levels”.

She said: “These figures are a stark illustration of the pressure that hospitals are under and the crisis in care that has developed under David Cameron.”

But Councillor Dave Shields, Southampton’s Cabinet member for social care, said there was “no single cause for delayed discharges”.

He added: “It could be down to a number of factors, including increased admissions, new staff training or an increased amount of patients needing post-discharge support.

“We are consistently working with our neighbouring councils and our local NHS partners to improve timely discharge arrangements.”

Local councils have warned they will be unable to meet the social care costs of an ageing population in the years to come, with savage grant cuts set to continue.

A spokesman for NHS England said local health leaders had been told to “renew their efforts to spot issues early and take action”.

He added: “It is important that all patients ready to leave hospital are able to do so at the earliest opportunity.

“The recently announced £3.8 billion Better Care Fund will help join up hospital, community, and social care, which, in turn, will help ensure patients are able to return to their homes as soon as they are fit and able to do so.”

Comments (8)

The response from Dave Shields is disingenuous. He knows full well that the main issue is lack of aftercare both home visits and care home places because of an ageing population and major underspend by SCC as they try to balance their budgets. The better care project should be helping but it is not since the organisations involved are still arguing about who should lead and how the funds should be allocated. In the meantime, as usual, patients continue to suffer.

The response from Dave Shields is disingenuous. He knows full well that the main issue is lack of aftercare both home visits and care home places because of an ageing population and major underspend by SCC as they try to balance their budgets. The better care project should be helping but it is not since the organisations involved are still arguing about who should lead and how the funds should be allocated. In the meantime, as usual, patients continue to suffer.nelson1

nelson1 wrote:
The response from Dave Shields is disingenuous. He knows full well that the main issue is lack of aftercare both home visits and care home places because of an ageing population and major underspend by SCC as they try to balance their budgets. The better care project should be helping but it is not since the organisations involved are still arguing about who should lead and how the funds should be allocated. In the meantime, as usual, patients continue to suffer.

You say 'a major underspend by SCC' yet the report quotes similar problems in 3 local authorities. Do you have an agenda?

[quote][p][bold]nelson1[/bold] wrote:
The response from Dave Shields is disingenuous. He knows full well that the main issue is lack of aftercare both home visits and care home places because of an ageing population and major underspend by SCC as they try to balance their budgets. The better care project should be helping but it is not since the organisations involved are still arguing about who should lead and how the funds should be allocated. In the meantime, as usual, patients continue to suffer.[/p][/quote]You say 'a major underspend by SCC' yet the report quotes similar problems in 3 local authorities. Do you have an agenda?thinklikealocal

nelson1 wrote:
The response from Dave Shields is disingenuous. He knows full well that the main issue is lack of aftercare both home visits and care home places because of an ageing population and major underspend by SCC as they try to balance their budgets. The better care project should be helping but it is not since the organisations involved are still arguing about who should lead and how the funds should be allocated. In the meantime, as usual, patients continue to suffer.

You say 'a major underspend by SCC' yet the report quotes similar problems in 3 local authorities. Do you have an agenda?

No agenda in that sense, other than to question the importance of the funding squeeze in creating the situation. It began centrally and the effects are now becoming local and important. It is just not possible to reduce spending in the NHS and on social care when the proportion of over 65's in the population will reach 24% by 2016.
Why the question about agendas?

[quote][p][bold]thinklikealocal[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]nelson1[/bold] wrote:
The response from Dave Shields is disingenuous. He knows full well that the main issue is lack of aftercare both home visits and care home places because of an ageing population and major underspend by SCC as they try to balance their budgets. The better care project should be helping but it is not since the organisations involved are still arguing about who should lead and how the funds should be allocated. In the meantime, as usual, patients continue to suffer.[/p][/quote]You say 'a major underspend by SCC' yet the report quotes similar problems in 3 local authorities. Do you have an agenda?[/p][/quote]No agenda in that sense, other than to question the importance of the funding squeeze in creating the situation. It began centrally and the effects are now becoming local and important. It is just not possible to reduce spending in the NHS and on social care when the proportion of over 65's in the population will reach 24% by 2016.
Why the question about agendas?nelson1

nelson1 wrote:
The response from Dave Shields is disingenuous. He knows full well that the main issue is lack of aftercare both home visits and care home places because of an ageing population and major underspend by SCC as they try to balance their budgets. The better care project should be helping but it is not since the organisations involved are still arguing about who should lead and how the funds should be allocated. In the meantime, as usual, patients continue to suffer.

You say 'a major underspend by SCC' yet the report quotes similar problems in 3 local authorities. Do you have an agenda?

No, its a problem now all over England. Do you have an agenda?

[quote][p][bold]thinklikealocal[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]nelson1[/bold] wrote:
The response from Dave Shields is disingenuous. He knows full well that the main issue is lack of aftercare both home visits and care home places because of an ageing population and major underspend by SCC as they try to balance their budgets. The better care project should be helping but it is not since the organisations involved are still arguing about who should lead and how the funds should be allocated. In the meantime, as usual, patients continue to suffer.[/p][/quote]You say 'a major underspend by SCC' yet the report quotes similar problems in 3 local authorities. Do you have an agenda?[/p][/quote]No, its a problem now all over England. Do you have an agenda?nelson1

voiceinthecrowd wrote:
Amazing how non conservative councils blame David Cameron instead of the last shower who got us into this mess

Ahha the old "it's all labour's fault" bog standard Tory line. Give it a rest, reputations live and die by what YOU do; they've had quite some time now to fix it and haven't.

[quote][p][bold]voiceinthecrowd[/bold] wrote:
Amazing how non conservative councils blame David Cameron instead of the last shower who got us into this mess[/p][/quote]Ahha the old "it's all labour's fault" bog standard Tory line. Give it a rest, reputations live and die by what YOU do; they've had quite some time now to fix it and haven't.H0ckeyd

voiceinthecrowd wrote:
Amazing how non conservative councils blame David Cameron instead of the last shower who got us into this mess

Ahha the old &quot;it's all labour's fault" bog standard Tory line. Give it a rest, reputations live and die by what YOU do; they've had quite some time now to fix it and haven't.

Exactly my thoughts when someone trots out the old line about everything being Thatchers fault, but the thirteen year Labour administration didn't reverse what she did in her eleven years.

[quote][p][bold]H0ckeyd[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]voiceinthecrowd[/bold] wrote:
Amazing how non conservative councils blame David Cameron instead of the last shower who got us into this mess[/p][/quote]Ahha the old "it's all labour's fault" bog standard Tory line. Give it a rest, reputations live and die by what YOU do; they've had quite some time now to fix it and haven't.[/p][/quote]Exactly my thoughts when someone trots out the old line about everything being Thatchers fault, but the thirteen year Labour administration didn't reverse what she did in her eleven years.Torchie1

voiceinthecrowd wrote:
Amazing how non conservative councils blame David Cameron instead of the last shower who got us into this mess

Ahha the old &quot;it's all labour's fault" bog standard Tory line. Give it a rest, reputations live and die by what YOU do; they've had quite some time now to fix it and haven't.

Exactly my thoughts when someone trots out the old line about everything being Thatchers fault, but the thirteen year Labour administration didn't reverse what she did in her eleven years.

Well Torchie1, market forces were responsible for the greedy bankers sinking world economies and she was a great exponent of it so yes, it's a fair point. Also, before this crash the economy was not too bad actually; industries were not destroyed and the poor and disabled were not being persecuted like they are now so yeah, fine, blame B-Lair, a lot of us will as he lead what was essentially a Tory-light party calling themselves "New Labour" but well, if it makes you happy believe that socialism is wrong.

[quote][p][bold]Torchie1[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]H0ckeyd[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]voiceinthecrowd[/bold] wrote:
Amazing how non conservative councils blame David Cameron instead of the last shower who got us into this mess[/p][/quote]Ahha the old "it's all labour's fault" bog standard Tory line. Give it a rest, reputations live and die by what YOU do; they've had quite some time now to fix it and haven't.[/p][/quote]Exactly my thoughts when someone trots out the old line about everything being Thatchers fault, but the thirteen year Labour administration didn't reverse what she did in her eleven years.[/p][/quote]Well Torchie1, market forces were responsible for the greedy bankers sinking world economies and she was a great exponent of it so yes, it's a fair point. Also, before this crash the economy was not too bad actually; industries were not destroyed and the poor and disabled were not being persecuted like they are now so yeah, fine, blame B-Lair, a lot of us will as he lead what was essentially a Tory-light party calling themselves "New Labour" but well, if it makes you happy believe that socialism is wrong.H0ckeyd